[Summit] Governor's & Health Director's press release + News Summaries from WJAR & WPRI [Covid News no. 163]

Sat Apr 25 03:27:42 UTC 2020

As in previous days, the NBC 10 and WPRI News summaries are about a day out-of-date. The most recent data are in the Governor’s press release below, which like Friday’s briefing was a little bit fuller than usual. (If Gov. Raimondo’s own usual late-evening newsletter arrives before I sign off for the night, I’ll pass it on separately.)
Dave

State Government Press Releases

Governor, Dr. Alexander-Scott Provide Updates on State Response to COVID-19

Governor Gina M. Raimondo and Nicole Alexander-Scott, MD, MPH, the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) provided updates on Rhode Island's response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) today.
• Serology testing: Earlier this week, the state received a shipment of 20,000 antibody tests that are now going through the validation process. In the coming weeks, the state will work with experts at Brown University and the Rhode Island Blood Center to test a random population sample and collect information about the prevalence of the virus in Rhode Island. In the meantime, RIDOH is creating a Rhode Island COVID-19 Testing and Validation Task Force to help analyze and draw conclusions from this data when it is available. The Task Force will be co-chaired by Dr. Angela Caliendo and Dr. Jonathan Kurtis, two Lifespan physicians. • Workforce stabilization: Today, the Governor announced a new Congregate Care Workforce Stabilization Fund for private providers. For the next month, this fund will provide temporary pay increases for low-wage frontline workers at eligible Medicaid-funded residential facilities. Employers can apply to the Office of Health and Human Services starting next week. • Banking pledge: More than 20 financial institutions in RI have pledged the following relief to their residential borrowers:    
   - o A 90-day grace period for all residential mortgage payments for individuals impacted by COVID-19, with the opportunity to request additional relief 
   - o An agreement to not report late payments to credit reporting agencies for residential borrowers who take advantage of this relief 
   - o A 60-day moratorium on initiating residential foreclosures and evictions; and 
   - o An agreement to waive mortgage-related late fees. 
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   - More information can be found here. https://dbr.ri.gov/documents/Financial_Institution_Pledge.pdf 
• Rental assistance: Starting next Thursday, the state will be making available $1.5M in rental assistance for low income Rhode Islanders across the state. Details and information on how to apply will be announced in the coming days. • Violence Prevention: Next Thursday at 11 a.m., Governor Raimondo will be joined by Senator Reed, Senator Whitehouse, Congressman Langevin, Congressman Cicilline, Attorney General Neronha, members of the Cabinet and representatives from the advocate community for a Violence Prevention Facebook Town Hall. Rhode Islanders can submit their questions on Facebook or anonymously by emailing communications at governor.ri.gov.
COVID-19 Data Update Rhode Island has 437 new cases of COVID-19. This brings Rhode Island's count to 6,699. RIDOH also announced 13 additional COVID-19 associated fatalities. Rhode Island's number of COVID-19 associated fatalities is now 202. A full data summary for Rhode Island is posted online.

Related links

   - Department or agency: Department of Health
   - Online: http://www.health.ri.gov

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State of Rhode Island: Department of He...
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   - Release date: 04-24-2020

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| Friday, April 24, 2020 |

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| RIIL cancels spring sports season |

| "We are a school-based athletic program; therefore, if we do not return to school, we cannot return to sports," the Rhode Island Interscholastic League said. |

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| ADVERTISEMENT

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| Firefighters respond to Texas Roadhouse in Dartmouth |

| A fire in the kitchen of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Dartmouth worked its way into an attic space. |

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| 'It really is happening': Coventry seniors react to school closing, remain optimistic |

| Families across the Ocean State are now finding ways to cope with the fact that they won't be going back to school this year. |

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| Providence business using thermal scans to detect fevers |

| "It makes my tenants feel safer, it's going to make visitors feel safer, our workers feel safer and that's what it's all about," said Joseph Paolino of Paolino Properties. |

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| Craft breweries in Rhode Island adapt to COVID-19 |

| Alcohol sales shot up more than 50 percent last month as the pandemic took hold. |

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| URI, RIC, Brown plan virtual commencement ceremonies |

| The coronavirus pandemic prevents graduates from celebrating their accomplishments in person, the schools said. |

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YOUR DAILY NEWS ROUNDUP //

*Note: These stories are uniquley selected for you based on your individual news preferences.
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| Top Stories |
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| ‘It’s been really challenging’: Salon owner concerned about employees as COVID-19 crisis drags on   |
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| PROVIDENCE, R. I. (WPRI) -- It's now been a month since all close-contact businesses like hair salons were ordered closed by Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza in response to the worsening COVID-19 pandemic. John Sepe, owner of Impulse Hair Designs in The Arcade, told Eyewitness News the last few... |

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| RI wedding vendor: ‘It feels as though we have been overlooked’ during pandemic   |
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| PROVIDENCE, R. I. (WPRI) ─ May is one of the busiest seasons for Rhode Island wedding vendors, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, many are now struggling to survive. Makeup artist Allison Barbera tells Eyewitness News that, because her career is solely based on events, the pandemic has... |

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| Multilingual COVID-19 testing site to open at Memorial Hospital site   |
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| PAWTUCKET, R. I. (WPRI) — Pawtucket and Central Falls have joined forces with Care New England (CNE) to more than triple the capacity of existing testing sites in the Blackstone Valley. In addition to the respiratory clinic already provided on the site by CNE, a multilingual coronavirus testing... |

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| Distance learning in RI continuing for rest of school year   |
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| .................... PROVIDENCE, R. I. (WPRI) – Rhode Island public schools are continuing with distance learning for the rest of the school year, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced Thursday. Raimondo made the announcement at her daily 1 p. m. news briefing. This is a breaking news update. You can... |

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MORE Local News & Weather on WPRI.com »

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- Advertisement - 
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| Eyewitness News Investigates |
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| Coronavirus |

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| ACI inmate and 7 staff members test positive for COVID-19   |
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| One female inmate is currently in isolation. |

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| Call 12 For Action |

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| Better Business Bureau warns of new scam targeting digital wallet app users   |
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| The BBB's Paula Fleming says scammers are using stolen cards to transfer funds to unsuspecting users, then asking them to return the funds. |

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| Coronavirus |

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| How COVID-19 could kill more than half of RI’s restaurants   |
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| "There will be a lot of restaurants that look back to May 1 as the time they could no longer continue, " said a Providence restaurant owner. |

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| Coronavirus |

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| Violent crime in Providence down 53% during pandemic   |
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| Violent crime is down in Providence, but certain property crimes are remaining fairly steady. |

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| Today on The Rhode Show |

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| Happening Here |

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| First Gentleman reminds us ‘It’s OK not to be OK’ |

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| Family Fun |

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| Eye on RI: experience the tulips virtually! |

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| Rhode Extra |

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| RHODE EXTRA: Mixing Up Hands-On Fun for the Kids |

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